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No good deed goes unpunished

Thomas Butler, a physician and scientist at Texas Tech University, couldn't locate 30 vials of plague specimens. He reported this to the safety officer at Texas Tech, who called in the FBI.

According to reliable sources, Butler was questioned by FBI agents without legal counsel which he waived, because he felt he had nothing to hide, he had worked with the military and federal agencies for years on this and other projects, and he genuinely wanted to help the FBI allay public fears. Testimony at the trial indicates that, after many hours of interrogation without sleep, and with the assurance that such interrogation would prevent any legal action, he signed a statement to the effect that the vials may have been autoclaved. He was then put in handcuffs and jailed, having been accused of lying to the FBI (a charge for which he was later acquitted). Jonathan Turley, an attorney for Butler and a professor at George Washington University School of Law, noted that "this made no sense. He would never have created a controversy to conceal the accidental destruction of vials". After being incarcerated for 6 nights in county jail without bail, Butler was allowed to post bail of US$100 000 (which was later increased to $250 000) but remained under house arrest, with electronic monitoring. He was not to contact colleagues who were on a witness list, and he had no access to his computer or e-mail for many months, despite having worked as Chief of the Infectious Diseases Department at Texas Tech University and having lived in Lubbock for 16 years, where he and his wife were raising 4 children and enjoying much respect in the community.

Butler was offered a plea bargain which involved pleading guilty to lying and spending 6 months in jail but declined and chose to risk trial by jury to clear his name. Although the original concerns of bioterrorism were not supportable, multiple additional charges largely unrelated to the disappearance of the vials containing _Y. pestis_ were filed (i.e., "piled on"), including illegal transportation of plague bacteria, tax evasion, embezzlement, and fraud, for a total of some 69 charges carrying a maximum sentence of 469 years in prison and US$17 million in fines. Many of the charges had to do with contract disputes Butler had with his university (which are normally handled through civil, not criminal, proceedings) and were unrelated to the original charges associated with the disappearance of the vials. During the trial, prosecutors described Dr. Butler as an "evil genius" and compared him to "a cocaine dealer smuggling illegal drugs," and they emphasized the accusations of lying to the FBI and endangering the public and made repeated references to terrorism, actions many felt were designed to create an atmosphere of fear in the conservative West Texas courtroom.

Remember, this was a respected research physician with an unblemished career and a history of responsible behavior. The story goes on to explain how most charges were dropped, but Butler was ultimately sentenced to two years in prison and required to pay $38,000 to Texas Tech University - this was questionable and it appears the judge might have suspended his sentence but was concerned that a suspension would result in an automatic federal appeal for an even longer sentence.

Can we help Butler's situation? All concerned individuals can help Dr. Butler and discourage misuse of current laws designed to defend us against terrorism by writing to members of Congress, to the Department of Justice, or to the newly confirmed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Dr. Butler's appeal is currently pending in the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.. He has exhausted his personal savings and retirement funds. If you wish to assist his defense by providing expenses for his appeal, donations to the Thomas Butler Legal Defense Fund may be sent to Daniel C. Schwartz, c/o Bryan Cave LLP, 700 Thirteenth St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20005.

Meanwhile, we should wonder what will happen the next time a scientist discovers that potentially dangerous materials are missing. What would you do? [Link]

jon posted this at 3:43 AM
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